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Duluth Mayor Looks To Spiff Up Stone Tower

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Duluth’s mayor wants to direct local tourism taxes toward repairing an iconic observation tower that overlooks the city, and hopes it can be rededicated by the king of Norway when he visits Minnesota later this year.

Enger Tower has been perched on the bluffs overlooking Lake Superior since 1939. The 80-foot-tall structure and its land was a gift to the city from Bert J. Enger, who emigrated from Norway to Duluth and made a fortune selling furniture. Its dedication ceremony was attended by a Norwegian crown prince and princess.

Mayor Don Ness wants the city council to approve about $372,000 from local taxes to spiff up the tower for the first time in its 72 years. He tells the Duluth News Tribune he hopes to lure Norway’s King Harold V to rededicate Enger Tower during his scheduled visit to Minnesota in October.